This weekend vital for missing plane's search: Malaysia

Malaysian acting Transport Minister Hishammudin Hussein said here Friday that this weekend would be very important for the search of missing plane -- MH370.

"I believe this weekend is very, very important few days," Xinhua quoted the minister as saying.

That's because the search has been narrowed to a very small area, Hishammudin said, adding that he was informed by Angus Houston of the Joint Agency Coordination Center (JACC) that the visuals they got from the autonomous underwater vehicle, Bluefin- 21, were very clear, which made it quite easy to see the seabed.

"The next few days will be important to see what they can find, " he said.

It still depends on, he said, what they would discover in the next few days. "If not, then I agree with Prime Minister Abbott ( that the search will enter a new phase)."

That does not mean stopping the operations, but to "regroup, restrategise and see where do they go from there", he added.